CHAPTER VII
Two Worlds, One Warning**
On one side of the sky, laughter echoed softly through the clouds.
Caelum and Celeste were caught up in a playful game of hide and seek, their silhouettes darting in and out of sunlight, wings glinting with magic as they weaved through cottony clouds. For a rare moment, the air around them was light — carefree — as if the weight of destiny had been lifted for just a little while.
Celeste's giggles rang out as she vanished behind a drift of silver mist, and Caelum, smirking with the thrill of the chase, followed close behind. It was a moment stolen from time, from chaos — a rare spark of joy amidst a darkening sky.
But while one part of the world played…
another braced for a storm.
Far away, in the hidden chambers of the High Queen's castle, Queen Elyon stood near the crystal mirror, her brows furrowed with unease. The reflection flickered — not showing her face, but visions of what was to come.
She had seen it.
She had felt it.
A disturbance in the balance of magic… a trembling in the threads of fate.
Her hands, usually steady, trembled ever so slightly as she reached for the enchanted scroll. She pressed her royal seal upon it and whispered the ancient summoning phrase.
One by one, glowing symbols flew into the air — beams of magical light — racing across realms like golden comets.
Each one carried a message:
> "An urgent meeting of the Queens is summoned. Come without delay."
She knew she didn't have time to explain everything in the message. Words couldn't capture what she had seen in her vision — the falling skies, the broken seals, the return of something ancient and dangerous. She needed the others. Now.
The message reached Queen Sunaria, who stood on her garden balcony, her hands resting gently on the railing as she stared out over the sunflower fields. She felt the call in her bones before the magic even reached her.
Queen Luna, deep within her sacred moonlight chamber, turned sharply as the scroll formed in the air. Her heart skipped a beat — she, too, had felt something was wrong. Something brewing beneath the surface of their world.
Queen Rosy, among her blooming rose valleys, dropped her tea mid-sip, petals swirling around her as she read the glowing call with growing dread.
Queen Zephyr, guardian of the winds, caught the message mid-flight as she soared through storm clouds, her expression tightening with concern.
Queen Aviora, high in her starlit tower, already had her books open — as if she had sensed this moment coming, reading omens in the shifting constellations.
One by one, the Queens of the Realms gathered.
They did not arrive with ceremony. There were no trumpets, no golden carpets rolled out for their feet. This was not a time for royalty.
This was a time for warning.
Queen Elyon stood at the center of the roundtable, her face pale but firm. As the others took their seats, silence fell like a veil.
"There's something I must tell you," she began, her voice low and laced with worry. "A shadow has begun to stir. A power long buried beneath the roots of our world. I have seen it in the mirror. I have felt it in the pulse of our lands."
No one interrupted.
"There will be a choice made soon. A line crossed. And once it is, none of our realms will remain untouched."
Luna leaned forward, her expression unreadable. "Is it… Caelum?"
Elyon hesitated. Then nodded.
"Yes. Caelum. And Celeste. Their fates are tangled in this storm, but it's bigger than just them now. The prophecy is shifting. And I fear we may be too late to stop what's coming… unless we act together."
A cold hush swept the room.
The Queens knew what this meant.
Their unity — once a symbol of strength — was now their only hope. They had been scattered across their lands for too long. Guarding their own borders. Trusting in ancient treaties.
But now, they would need to rise — not as rulers of different kingdoms…
But as guardians of one world.
And so, while Caelum and Celeste laughed in the clouds…
Their destinies were being written below.
With ink made of ancient warnings.
And hearts bracing for war.
Caelum's POV: The Unseen Force**
I stood alone in the silence of my hidden chamber, the soft glow of candlelight casting long shadows on the marble walls around me. The crystal ball before me pulsed faintly — cold, unyielding — as if mocking my frustration.
I clenched my fists.
Why didn't it work?
I had tried to hypnotize all three princesses together. The spell was ancient, powerful — drawn from the deepest archives of black magic, refined by my own hand. It should have worked.
It worked on Aurelia. It worked — partially — on Olivia.
But Celeste…
She didn't even blink.
The magic hit her like wind on stone — there, but ineffective. Not only did she resist it… she reflected it. As if some unknown force inside her deflected the spell like light bouncing off a mirror. She looked at me with those eyes — calm, clear, almost curious — and I felt my entire plan begin to crack at the edges.
What is she?
What power lies within her?
I saw it. I felt it. There's something inside her. Glowing. Ancient. Divine.
It wasn't just resistance — it was a shield.
Could it be…?
I shook my head violently, stepping back from the crystal ball.
No. That can't be it.
That prophecy Mother Fairy once whispered — the one I mocked as a child, the one Luna tried to bury under lies and lullabies — it can't be true. I won't let it be true.
Not while I still breathe.
Not until I find my elder brother, Finnian.
He's the missing piece. The one thread I still haven't pulled. If I find him — if I use him — I can change this destiny. Rewrite the prophecy. Erase the girl whose presence threatens to unravel everything I've built.
But those princesses…
They think they've escaped me? They think they're safe?
Fools.
If I couldn't join their journey disguised as a chariot driver… then I'll take a new approach.
I'll become what they least expect.
A hero.
A prince.
Yes… Prince Caelum.
Let them lower their guard. Let them believe I am one of the noble few. Let them invite me into their circle.
And then — once I gain their trust…
I'll strike.
I'll take the keys.
And I'll kill them all.
Slowly, deliberately, I turned back toward the crystal ball and reached for it with both hands. My magic surged through it like a heartbeat, dark veins of power pulsing along the surface.
"Flash," I called, my voice low but urgent. "Where are you right now? Answer me. Flash, respond."
Silence.
"Flash…" I repeated, louder this time, magic tightening in my fingertips. "You better not be ignoring me. I need your report. Now."
But nothing.
No image. No sound. Not even static.
The connection was dead.
I narrowed my eyes, fury crawling up my spine like fire. That useless bird. When I find him, I swear — he'll learn what betrayal really feels like. He knows how important this mission is. He knows the cost of disobedience.
Fine. Let him delay.
I'll deal with him later.
Right now, I needed to plan my next move.
If Celeste had the kind of power I suspected — the kind that defied even dark magic — then I had to act faster than fate.
Because if the prophecy is true…
Then she's the only one who can stop me.
And I'm not ready to fall.
Not now.
Not ever.
To be continue....